On January 24th and 25th, two new tests of It-Alert, the national public warning system that Italy is equipping itself with, will concern some areas of Campania and, in particular, the territories of the provinces of Naples, Caserta and Benevento.
The experimentation, which is taking place throughout Italy, is part of the process of familiarization with the reception of the It-Alert message for specific risks. In Campania, in particular, the sending of messages will be tested for the scenario relating to a major industrial accident (the experimentation of which will concern a plant located in the port area of Naples) and for the risk of collapse of a large dam (the test of which will take place in the area of Presenzano, in the province of Caserta and will concern the territories of the provinces of Benevento and Caserta).
The switched-on cell phones with a telephone connection of citizens present in the areas affected by the experiments, around 12 o'clock, will ring producing an anomalous sound and will receive the It-Alert message.
As in the case of the previous general experiment, those who receive the test message relating to the simulation have nothing to fear, and will not have to do anything except read the message that redirects to the It-Alert website page, where it will be possible to view the real text that citizens would receive in the event of an alert for that specific risk. The page will also contain a link to the questionnaire, which is invited to be answered by both those who correctly received the message and those who, despite being in the test area, did not receive the notification.
On January 24, at 12:2, a major accident will be simulated at industrial plants subject to the Seveso Directive. In Campania, a plant has been identified, located in Naples, within the port area. Citizens present in the affected area, i.e. within a radius of about XNUMX km from the plant, will receive the It-Alert test message. The same test will be carried out, at the same time as the one involving Naples, also in other regions of Italy.
On January 25, at 12:XNUMX, the collapse of the large dam of Presenzano will be tested. In this case, the target area includes the municipalities of the provinces of Caserta and Benevento: Presenzano, Vairano Patenora, Pratella, Ailano, Raviscanina, Pietravairano, Sant'Angelo d'Alife, Baia and Latina, Alife, Dragoni, Alvignano, Gioia Sannitica, Ruviano, Castel Campagnano, Caiazzo, Piana di Monte Verna, Castel Morrone, Pontelatone, Bellona and Capua (Ce); Faicchio, Puglianello, Amorosi, Melizzano, Dugenta and Limatola (Bn).
Again, this will be a test based on a simulation. It will be up to some “volunteer sentinels” from the regional Civil Protection associations, coordinated by the Operations Room, to verify the actual arrival of messages on cell phones in the territory, as well as to support citizens in filling out the questionnaires.
The It-Alert system will be operational in Italy for the different types of risk only after the positive outcome of the testing phase. At the same time as the It-Alert test, both in the industrial plant and at the Presenzano dam, Civil Protection exercises for command posts will be carried out, with the coordination of the Civil Protection of the Campania Region and the competent Prefectures, in order to test the correct functioning of the emergency plans in case of actual need.
Article published on 22 January 2024 - 18:42
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